Louisiana has joined the now-growing list of states that have attempted to oppose sweepstakes through legislation, dubbing the activity "illegal gambling." Although efforts to ban sweepstakes in places such as Mississippi faltered, mostly due to ill-calculated tacking on of sports betting rules, the acrimony toward the sector remains.
Louisiana bill seeks to ‘criminalize loyalty programs’
Sen. Adam Bass in Louisiana introduced his Senate Bill 181, which seeks to reinforce this sentiment and officially designate the activity as a form of unregulated gambling that needs to be stopped, something that the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) argues is a "reckless silicification."
The SPGA issued a quick statement over the weekend, reminding Sen. Bass of the possible ramifications of the bill passage, equating its success with a threat to the state’s tech sector. The SPGA used a familiar argument – that for decades now, companies such as fast-food chains and app developers have utilized the mechanic without opposition.
The SPGA argued that the "no purchase necessary" rules were well-established in precedent and business practice to merit a prohibition under a new state law that could end up overreaching and damaging more than just a single sector.
Furthermore, says the association, SB181 risks criminalizing loyalty programs and wreaks havoc in the process, possibly criminalizing loyalty and rewards programs that could fall under the "sweepstake" definition and that could be acted against as illegal.
Tone and economically-deaf proposal, argues the SPGA
As the association puts it, SB181 isculturally and economically tone-deaf, citing evidence that there is a significant number of people who have been enjoying sweepstake casinos for years, and that the model has been largely accepted as legal across most of the country.
SB181 could discourage venture capital investment that could, in turn, slow down the emergence of new tech emanating from the state, including core technologies such as artificial intelligence, the SPGA also added. In a word, SB181 positions itself as hostile to business and innovation, not least the consumers who have enjoyed the sweepstakes social casino model.
In the association’s view, state legislators ought to oppose and halt what the SPGA has described as an "ill-conceived bill," and called for more input from experts before engaging with any changes to the legal framework.
In March, Arkansas also put forward a draft law that seeks to outlaw sweepstakes operators and designate them as illegal gambling.
